, 1887-12-09
EoR TIE JEWISH TABLE.

Moses ButoherinG Laws stm Carried Out
FaithfuIy--The NIodus OperandI.
The Hebrew butcher, or shochat, takes
the chicken, duck or goose, and places it
beneath his knees, %pinioning its wings in
this way; then he bends the head back
until the windpipe shows. Next, with
one quick stroke, he half sewers the neck.
He dare not cut the head off completely,
for then the meat would be trefe. The
bird is hung up by the legs, and all the
blood let run out of it. Here the shochat's
duty ends. The purchaser carries the
fowl home and opens it. If he finds in
it a pin, a nail, a piece of wood, or my
thing which might in time have caused
the death of the fowl, it is trefe, unfit to
eat, declared &c nave been sick. Sim
ilarly, If there is any sore on the lungs,
the fowl is trefe, and must be thrown
away. When there is any doubt, it
must be carried to the rabbi, who ONE
times may decide that it is kosher, but in
any case his decision is final.
In killing a beef, calf, sheep, lamb,
goat or kid a little more ceremony is OBJ
served. When the killing is at a dis
lance two shochatim go together. just
as one draws his knife and prepare to
kill, the other seizes his arm and asks
him is the knife right. If he
YES" the work proceeds. The animal
is laid on its side. The shochat, with a
smaller knife, sharp as a razor, shaves
the hair from the throat. Then with his
regular knife he cuts the throat, not with
one sharp sweep as is lone with the fowl,
but he may saw back and forth five or
six times without stopping. If he makes
n nnt,nA latVr.n, N,V-A ~ tL. -A,-.r.-.N-
the meat becomes trefe. He must sever
every blood vessel-..pipes," the ordi-
nary Hebrew calls them. Then the ami
mails blood is let trickle out and it is
hung up. The shochat remains, and an
other man, under his direction, cuts it
open and examines the intestines, lungs
and liver. If there is the slightest blem-
ish IN them the shochat marks the meat
trefe by cutting three or four crosses on
1t with his knife.
If it is kosher he stamps hat word on
it, and the date on which it is killed be-
side. The date is added because the meat
may be eaten only two days after the
killing. that day, the next day, and the
day after. " explains an intelligent He
brew. Only the forequarters are allowed
to be used for food, as few men can draw
the veins and sinews out properly. When
the layman has bought his beef, mutton
or other meat, lie carries it home, soaks
1t i'll water, and then lays it on a board
with holes through which any remaining
blood may drop. Next salt is put on each
of the six sides, for, as may be seen,
there are six sides to any piece of meat.
and ii Is soaked for an hour, after which
it is cleansed and cooked.
Much has been said about the knife
which the shochat uses. 1t is u straight,
ordinary looking instrument, one foot six
inchc, in length and three inches in width,
made of the best steel, and costing from
Sl5 to SEQ. Not only is it tried before
using, but also after. A shochat may
kill a dozen or 100 chickens or other
fowl in quick and immediate succession.
Ii. when this task is completed, he finds
u nick IN the knife, only the last Tow
killed is trefc: all the rest are kosher. A
cow and her calf, a eve and her lamb, a
she goat and her kid may not be killed
on the same day, nor may a calf be killed
before it is & days old. Globe Democrat.